It might be hard to believe, but there's more to St. Patrick's Day than green colored beer!

St Patrick's Day Facts
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In honor of St. Patrick's day coming up this Monday, we've rounded up 10 fun facts you might not know about the holiday! Check out the list below!

ST PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRATES THE FEAST OF ST. PATRICK

St. Patrick was a Christian missionary to Ireland. Because of his work converting the Irish to Christianity in the 5th Century, he is the patron saint of the country. He is also credited in driving all the snakes out of the country! St. Patrick's Day is still celebrated as an official religious holiday in Ireland, with businesses, banks, and more all closed for the day.

 

ST PATRICK'S DAY MARKS THE DEATH OF THE PATRON SAINT

St. Patrick is believed to have died on March 17th in 461 A.D. This date was later selected to commemorate all that the Catholic missionary did for the country of Ireland.

 

ST PATRICK WAS KIDNAPPED AND SOLD AS A SLAVE IN IRELAND

At the age of 16, St Patrick was kidnapped from his family home in Wales and brought to Ireland where he lived as a slave for 6 years. He eventually made it back home, became a priest and returned back to the "Emerald Isle" as a missionary after a vision from God.

 

THE FIRST ST PATTY'S DAY PARADE IN NEW YORK WAS 250 YEARS AGO

New Yorkers held the first official St. Patty's day parade in 1762! It's now the world's largest St. Patrick's Day Parade, with 150,000 people watching every year! It's now the longest running civilian parade in the world!

 

THE US HAS MILLIONS OF IRISH CITIZENS

Since 1820, 4.8 million Irish have legally immigrated to the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As of now, 34 million US citizens claim Irish ancestry. That's almost 10 times more than the population of Ireland!

 

THE SHAMROCK STARTED OUT AS A RELIGIOUS SYMBOL

It is said that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, with each leaf representing God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Hence the origin of the green plant as the symbol of the holiday. They are also the national emblem of Ireland.

 

THE ORIGINAL COLOR OF ST PATRICK WAS BLUE

St. Patrick was originally associated with the color blue. It wasn't until the 19th century that green became the color associated with the holiday. in Irish legends, green was the color of fairies and immortals. It's also the color of Ireland, called the "Emerald Isle".

 

THE TRADITION OF PINCHING CAME FROM "LEPRECHAUNS"

Ever wonder why you get pinched if you're not wearing green on St. Patty's day? It all started with the legend that wearing green made you invisible to leprechauns. If they saw you, they would pinch you!

 

THE US GOES GREEN FOR ST PATRICK'S DAY

It's become a tradition for the US to go green for St. Patty's day! For instance, Chicago dyes their rivers green with a top secret dye. Seattle holds a yearly ceremony to paint the road stripes green. And of course we're all familiar with the green beer served in bars across America on March 17th!

 

FOUR LEAFED CLOVERS ARE VERY RARE

It's estimated that for every 10,000 three leafed clover, there's one four leafed clover! If you find one, hold on to it! They are supposed to bring you lots of luck!

 

How will you celebrate the holiday? Tweet me, @DaniOnUS105!

 

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